Bus Trip With Vomiting Monk From Rach Gia To Ha Tien, Vietnam

Pop quiz: there are 3 people sitting in the last row of a bouncing bus.
Who is the true wise man in the above photo who did not vomit during a roller coaster like bus travel in Southern Vietnam?
Yes, of course the answer is: seat No 27!!!

After getting off the ferry coming from Phu Quoc Island I jumped on the back of a motorbike to go to the Rach Gia bus station to board a fine vehicle of Vietnam’s excellent transportation system.

As the motorbike pulled into the station the bus was about to leave; excellent timing!
I got a window seat which was great for taking photos, getting a nice mix of fresh air and exhaust gas, to have clear view outside to lessen car sickness and to be able to easily purchase snacks and water from vendors at a bus stop.

The next 2 hours of madness entailed constant honking by the bus driver to get the motorbike riders out of the way, weaving in and out of traffic, not really stopping at some bus stops just slowing down and the “conductor” trying to charge me a second fair for my backpack although it did not take up another seat by laying on the floor in the middle isle.

The monk sitting next to me was eager to chat and even though he “spoke English” it was near impossible to get passed the usual “what’s your name?” and “where are you from?” introductions.
His follow up questions were “How about?” several times without any follow up so I was pretty much lost.

The monk was from Ha Tien which was my destination and I assume he must have done this trip before so when he threw up into a readily available vomit bag I felt pretty good to make the trip without blowing chunks and even having a snack and some tasty pastries too.

I took a few hundred photos from the speeding bus to kill time and to document life between Rach Gia and Ha Tien.
It was getting close to sunset so the photos are not the best quality but good enough to get a feel for normal everyday rural living in Vietnam.
I may post some at a later time.